St Lawrence Primary School

386 Albert Street, Balcatta 6021

Phone: 08 9344 4944

admin@stlawbal.wa.edu.au

https://www.stlawbal.wa.edu.au/

The vision of St Lawrence Catholic Primary School, Balcatta is to share the message of God’s love and friendship in a community of learners, developing the full potential of each child.

Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 3! I hope all our families enjoyed a restful break and had the opportunity to spend quality time together. It has been wonderful to see our students return with enthusiasm, ready for another busy and exciting term of learning and personal growth.

Grandparents Day

One of the highlights of the start of our term was our Grandparents Day celebration. We were delighted to welcome so many grandparents and special visitors to our school for Mass, and to also have our beautiful choir perform at this celebration. This was followed by classroom visits and morning tea in our gardens. There was a wonderful sense of joy throughout the day as generations came together to celebrate the special role grandparents play in the lives of our children. As the saying goes:

"Grandparents sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children."

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the day so memorable. We were thrilled with the fantastic turnout. A special thank you must also go to our staff, whose organisation, hard work and dedication ensured the day ran so smoothly.

Year 5 Camp

This Thursday, our Year 5 students are embarking on a very exciting camp experience, spending a night at AQWA! This unique opportunity will provide them with memorable learning experiences, build independence and strengthen friendships. As the future leaders of our school, we know they will represent St Lawrence with pride and maturity, and we look forward to hearing all about their adventures when they return.

Religious Education Assessment

Students in Year 3 and Year 5 have recently been preparing to sit the online Religious Education Assessment. This assessment provides a snapshot of students' understanding of the Religious Education curriculum and helps guide our future planning and programming. It is one of the many ways we ensure that our teaching continues to meet the needs of our learners and supports their faith development journey.

Kindy / PP Reading Workshops

Thank you to the many parents who attended our recent Kindergarten and Pre-Primary Reading Workshops. Reading with children at home is one of the most powerful ways parents can support their learning. Research shows that regular shared reading strengthens language development, builds vocabulary, enhances comprehension and fosters a lifelong love of reading. Even just a few minutes of reading together each day can have a lasting impact on a child's educational journey.

The strong attendance at these workshops reflects the value our families place on education and helps strengthen the partnership between home and school. These partnerships play a vital role in developing confident, capable readers, and it was wonderful to see such positive engagement from our parents. A sincere thank you to Mrs Flamini and Mrs Preston for presenting these informative sessions and sharing practical strategies to support reading at home.

"The greatest gift a parent can give a child is not just the ability to read, but the love of reading."

~ Emilie Buchwald

P&F Quiz Night

Finally, we are looking forward to seeing many members of our community at the P&F Quiz Night this Friday. Events such as these do not happen without an enormous amount of planning and dedication, and I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our hardworking P&F Committee for the significant time and effort they have invested in making this event possible. It promises to be a fantastic evening of fun, laughter and community spirit.

As for the staff table, we're all very confident we'll take home the trophy… although history suggests we're much better at writing report comments than answering quiz questions!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.

Warm regards,

Mrs Sarah Williams

Principal

Introducing the Parent and Carer Code of Conduct

We are committed to building a school community where every child can flourish. The new Parent and Carer Code of Conduct articulates our shared expectations for respectful engagement, safety and support. By working together in partnership, families and staff help create a welcoming environment where all students are valued and empowered to succeed.

2026.07.20 CEWA and CSPWA Code of Conduct Letter to Parents.pdf

Please be aware that the newsletter will be sent out Thursday mornings from the commencement of Term 3.

Please note: All dates and events are subject to change.

Term 3

• Thursday 30 July - Year 1-3 attend Mass 9am
• Thursday 30 July - PK Parent Meeting Take Home Story Books 2pm - 2.30pm
• Thursday 30 July - Friday 31 July - Yr5 AQWA Camp
• Friday 31 July - Leadership Assembly 8.45am - 9.15am
• Friday 31 July - P&F Quiz Night 7pm - 10.30pm
• Monday 3 August - West Coast Eagles Resilience Program Yr 5 11am-12pm Yr 6 1.30pm - 2.30pm
• Tuesday 4 August - School Tour 9am
• Wednesday 5 August - Year 3 RE Assessment 9am - 10.30am, Year 5 RE Assessment 11am -12.30pm
• Thursday 6 August - Year 4-6 attend Mass 9am
• Thursday 6 August - Year 2-6 Cross Country 11.30am-2.45pm
• Thursday 6 August - Eucharist Parent Meeting 6.30pm
• Friday 7 August - St Lawrence Feast Day Whole School Celebrations All day
• Monday 10 August - Kindy Cake Stall Fundraiser Recess/Lunch
• Tuesday 11 August - Year 2 Kings Park excursion 10.40am-1.40pm
• Wednesday 12 August - STEM Showcase Yr5-Yr 6
• Thursday 13 August - Year 4 Eucharist Retreat All day
• Thursday 13 August - School Advisory Council Meeting 2pm-3pm
• Friday 14 August - Assumption - Whole School Mass 9am
• Monday 17 August - Friday 21 August - Science Week
• Tuesday 18 August - Yr 3 Scitech Excursion
• Wednesday 19 August - Friday 21 August - Yr 6 Camp
• Monday 24 August - Pupil Free Day

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

Our school community came together to celebrate NAIDOC Week and this year’s theme, “50 Years of Deadly,” with a wonderful day of learning, connection and celebration. The day began with a fantastic assembly presented by our Year 3 students, setting the tone for a meaningful celebration. Throughout the day, students enjoyed a range of activities with their buddies, including making delicious Lemon Myrtle Honey Toast and Strawberry Gum Pink Milk, creating bead keyrings, participating in face painting and playing traditional Aboriginal games. Students also gathered in a yarning circle on Country, taking time to listen to the sounds around them and reflect on what Country was saying, before sharing the beautiful story Spirit of Sound, illustrated by Noongar artist Davinder Hart. We then came together for a whole school story time with Mrs Hogg and finished the day with colouring activities alongside our buddies. It was a wonderful celebration of culture, community and learning and a fitting way to recognise 50 years of NAIDOC. Well done and thank you to everyone who helped organise such a memorable day for our school community.

Uniform

As we move through Term 3, teachers will be placing a strong focus on ensuring all students are wearing the correct school uniform each day. This includes wearing only the approved earrings, all-black sports shoes with the sports uniform, and black leather school shoes with the winter uniform (sports shoes are not part of the winter uniform). Wearing the correct uniform helps promote a sense of pride, belonging and consistency across our school community. We thank families for their support in helping students meet our uniform expectations. Please refer to the school website for our full School Uniform Policy and guidelines. https://stlawbal.wa.edu.au/parents/school-uniform/

First Holy Communion

Our Year 4 students will begin their Sacramental journey towards receiving the Eucharist. They will celebrate the Sacrament of Eucharist for the first time on Saturday, 29 August at 4:00pm. This is a very special occasion for both the students and their families.

A Parent Information Session will be held in the Church on Thursday, 6 August at 6.30pm. At least one parent or guardian of each child is required to attend.

To help prepare for this important milestone, students will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Wednesday, 26 August and participate in a Retreat Day on Thursday, 13 August.

We pray that, as they receive their First Holy Communion, they grow closer to Jesus and continue to live as children of God.

St Lawrence School Feast Day

The school will be celebrating St Lawrence Feast Day on Friday 7 August. The Feast Day is an opportunity to celebrate our Patron Saint, but also an opportunity to continue his work by donating funds to those most in need in our community. Money raised will be donated to the Kora Centre run by the Servite Sisters. Children will be participating in games and purchasing yummy goodies from our stalls.

Monday 24th August

Friday 20th November

Ms Kathleen Tranquille & Mrs Gabrielle Brennan

Assistant Principals

We are delighted to unveil our new bucket hats, designed with our faction colours featured on inside. These hats are an exciting addition to our school uniform. In keeping with our commitment to sustainability, students may continue wearing their current legionnaires hats for the time being. To purchase one of these newly designed hats please go to the uniform shop. All details are on our school website.

Scholastic Book Club brochures have gone home this week. All orders, both LOOP and orders returned to school, are due back by 3.30 pm Tuesday 4 August. Orders provide the school with rewards that can then be used to purchase resources for the school. We thank you for your support.

Ms Louise Frenzel

Library Officer

I’m very excited looking ahead to what promises to be a very busy term in Sport.

In lessons, the students from Kindy to Year 6 have started learning and practising their team games, as well as also working on their running events. There’s a lot of enthusiasm and excitement and the children are all trying really hard.

Our first sports event this term will be the Faction Cross Country Carnival on Thursday 6th August. All students from Year 2 – 6 take part in this event, with every participant earning points for their team.

So, it’s definitely worth giving it your all, even if distance running isn’t your thing.

Year 2 – 1000m

Year 3 + 4 – 1200m

Year 5 + 6 - 1500m

From this event the teams will be selected to compete in the Interschool Cross Country Carnival at Yokine Reserve on Wednesday 26th August. I’m anticipating some great performances this year based on the commitment that many students have shown towards morning running club.

A huge well done to all our early morning runners! It is such a great way for everyone to start their day.

The Kindy, PP and Year 1 students will do their own mini cross country event in their lesson on Tuesday 4th August.

Our School Faction Sports Carnival is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 16th September. Running the event on a Wednesday allows our Kindy students to also be involved in the day.

Just a note for diaries, please note the Interschool Athletics Carnival for the students selected to represent St Lawrence will take place on Wednesday 4th November at HBF Stadium (this was originally posted incorrectly on the school calendar).

I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

In week 4, the year 6 student leaders will start training their team at lunchtime in readiness for our athletics carnival. They will be practising their events, working on their cheering and generally building team spirit.

Your child can start wearing their faction shirt to school on Tuesday and Thursday this term. These are available through the uniform shop.

The school oval is already marked with the track, please feel free to bring your children down in the evenings or at the weekend and use the oval for some extra training!!

Thanks to all students for a great start to the Term, let’s keep it up!

Mrs Claire Major

Physical Education

A very big thank you to our generous P&F who funded the painting of the new courts and car park markings. It is looking great and so appreciated.

We have an external provider to deliver a lunch service for Thursday & Friday each week.

LunchboxHub will be supplying a variety of healthy lunch options which parents can now access to order school lunches.

Lunch orders need to be placed by 8:30am on Thursday and 7:30am on Friday.

To Order Lunches:

Please visit the following link that will provide you with all the information and an ordering guide:

All you need to know about ordering from Lunchbox Hub and visit: https://school-lunch.lunchboxhub.com.au/ to create your new account.

For further information about our new canteen service please click here: https://stlawbal.wa.edu.au/parents/school-canteen/

P&F Quiz Night - Friday 31 July

Our P&F Quiz Night is officially SOLD OUT! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who has purchased tickets. We can’t wait to welcome you on Friday 31 July for what promises to be a fantastic night of laughs, friendly competition and fundraising.

🕖 Doors open at 6:30pm. Quiz starts at 7pm sharp. Please arrive on time so we can get the quiz underway.

Please note: Light refreshments provided, you’re welcome to bring snacks! This is a strictly NO BYO event.

Drinks Available:

We’ll have a fully stocked bar available on the night, with the following prices:

• Beer – $7.50
• Glass of wine (red, white or sparkling) – $7.50
• Bottle of wine – $25
• Spirits with mixer (vodka, gin or whiskey) – $8
• Soft drinks – $5
• Bottled water – $3

Bring Some Cash!

There will be plenty of opportunities throughout the night to support our fundraising efforts, including:

• 🎟️ Raffle tickets
• 🎲 Fun games
• 🤫 The chance to secretly purchase quiz answers if your table needs a little extra help!

Cash is preferred for games and raffles, however, EFTPOS will be available on the night

We can’t wait to see everyone for an unforgettable evening. Good luck to all our teams—may the best table take home the bragging rights!

St Lawrence Feast Day – Thursday 7 August

We are also looking forward to celebrating St Lawrence Feast Day on Friday 7th August.

The P&F will be providing pizza and a juice box for lunch for all children who wish to participate.

For children not wanting pizza, please be sure to pack their lunch as per usual.

Parents are warmly welcome to attend the lunch celebration. If attending, parents are asked to please BYO their own lunch.

The school will provide a run sheet for the event closer to the day.

Wine Fundraiser

On behalf of the P&F, Charlotte P has created a fabulous opportunity to purchase wine from WA Cellars. This is an ongoing fundraiser that you can enjoy throughout the year!

Purchases can be made via the link below:

St Lawrence Primary School Fundraiser - WA Cellars

P&F TEAM

Welcome Dads to Term 3!

It was a fairly quiet term 2 in terms of events but term 3 is more than making up for it.

Friday 4th of September is the Fathers Day breakfast where fathers, grandfathers and father figures get to come together and catch up. Keep an eye out in the newsletter and year group message chats for RSVPs.

Wednesday 16th of September is the school Sports Carnival. Help will be required in the morning to assist Mrs Major to set up the Oval for the day, and then pack up when finished. We had a great turnout last year with many hands to help make light work. I am hoping we can have the same again this year. During the lunch period we will be running a sausage sizzle and will also need volunteers to help cook. Please contact me if you are able to assist for either of these.

Towards the end of Term 3 or early term 4 we are looking to run a Bunnings Sausage sizzle to help raise money for the fathering group and the P & F. Will be all hands on deck for this one and will need help throughout the day.

Please keep and eye on this newsletter and the fathers WhatsApp group for updates as we will need volunteers for this too.

Will Stevens

0413235448

Free to our school community – Student desks – suit older children. Available now. Please email Mrs Mayo at alica.mayo@cewa.edu.au to register your interest.

The WA Student Assistance Payment helps parents and carers with cost-of-living pressures associated with sending their children to school.

All Western Australian school students with an active enrolment at a public school, non-government school or registered for home education are eligible for the WA Student Assistance Payment.

You can claim $250 for each secondary student and $150 for students attending primary school or Kindergarten.

The fastest and most convenient way to claim is through the ServiceWA app. More information on how to claim through the ServiceWA app is available at WA.gov.au/WASAP2026

All claims must be received by Friday 25 September 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible students must be enrolled in Kindergarten to Year 12 at a Western Australian public school, non-government school or registered for home education and have a valid WA student number (WASN).

HOW TO CLAIM

Submit your claim through ServiceWA.

WASN (SCSA Government ID Number)

This can be found in SEQTA under the Reports tab.

WA Student Assistance Payment

education.wa.edu.au

CHILDREN'S LITURGY

The Children’s Liturgy is offered at the 5pm Mass on the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of the month, during school term.

At the beginning of Mass, all primary school children are invited to join our Children’s Liturgy team, in the Parish hall, for activities tailored to help them better understand ‘The Liturgy of the Word’. The children return to church when the offertory gifts are taken up. Please encourage your kids to join in.

Visit balcatta.perthcatholic.org.au to read our bulletins and find out more

information about happenings in our parish.